Fire and the Urban-Rural Interface

Forest fires in the boreal forests of Canada are a natural disturbance that drives vegetation dynamics by increasing the diversity of trees and vegetation. However, over the last few decades, the frequency, intensity, and severity of wildland fires have been increasing due to a confluence of factors. Common forestry practices of fire suppression have led to a sizable accumulation of dead wood and debris, as there are no natural fire regimes to reduce debris buildup (Stocks & Martell, 2016). The increased fuel load allows fires to reach higher into the canopy and burn much hotter. These conditions are compounded by anthropogenic climate change, which has led to drier and longer summers that create an ideal environment for intense and sustained fires. Some Canadian urban and Indigenous communities have traditionally been embedded within forested landscapes, while some new urban areas have also expanded into these areas. These urban-rural interfaces are at risk of experiencing forest fires as fire intensity and frequency increase in Canada.

While wildfires occur year-round, the fire season in Canada is generally concentrated from May to September. For Canada, 2023 was the most destructive wildfire year on record. In June 2023, more land was burned in Quebec than in the last 20 years combined (Natural Resources Canada, 2024). The impacts of severe wildfires extend beyond the loss of forests. They destroy communities, displace people, tear down buildings, and displace large groups of people from their homes. Additionally, wildfire weather and smoke can extend well beyond the wildfire area and have long-lasting human health impacts (UNDRR, 2024).

Fires can also severely impact urban forests by destroying large numbers of trees and green spaces, reducing overall tree canopy and forest diversity. Such impacts leave communities within this interface with little to no tree canopy cover. The severe reduction in canopy cover can intensify summer heat and exacerbate heat-related issues associated with urban heat islands. Tree loss in urban areas also impacts wildlife and plant species that rely on them for food and shelter, while simultaneously decreasing the aesthetic appeal and recreational value of these communities. Additionally, the sudden and large-scale tree canopy losses have long-term implications for community resilience and environmental health. The recovery process requires subsequent tree replanting and forest restoration efforts in urban areas, which can be a costly and time-consuming process.

Fire Management 

Fire management involves appropriate forest management techniques, public education, and updating landscape management plans and methods at the individual and community level. Individuals in high-risk areas can reduce fire risk to dwellings by clearing flammable materials around the home, creating fire breaks at the building scale, and incorporating fire-resistant material into building construction. Studies have shown that many buildings catch fire through embers landing on or near the property and spreading out to another adjacent dwelling (BC Wildfire Service, n.d.), and it is common for wind to carry embers hundreds of meters away (Partners in Protection, 2003). As such, maintaining a clean gutter, removing wood piles from the property, and creating a fire break between wooden structures and the house can reduce the chances of ignition. For instance, decks attached to houses and wood furniture can be sources of ignition. Choosing fire-resistant plant species, clearing low branches of adjacent trees to prevent crown fires, and clearing plant debris help to reduce the chance of fire spreading (Beverly et al., 2020). These preventative measures can reduce the risk of dwellings catching on fire and reduce fire spread through communities.

On a community or regional level, larger-scale initiatives such as conducting a wildfire assessment, identifying factors that increase the risk of wildfire in the urban area, and carrying out plans to reduce this risk can better prepare communities for the annual fire season. A review of studies in the Pacific Northwest has shown that a combination of forest thinning and burning is the most effective at decreasing fire severity (Copes-Gerbitz et al., 2022). Thinning lower branches helps to deter the upward spread of fires into the canopy and the spread of fire through the canopy. However, thinning alone has been documented to increase the severity of fires as the overall fuel load at ground level has increased; therefore, a combination of thinning and surface treatments makes the most significant difference, whether prescribed burning or pile burning, in decreasing the intensity of future fires (Davis et al., 2024). Post-treatment wildland fires are less intense and show higher tree survival rates (Davis et al., 2024). These managed landscapes are also easier for fire control personnel to traverse, leading to more effective control of wildland fires (Davis et al., 2024). Over time, treatment effectiveness declines, making long-term forest fire management crucial.

Fire and Indigenous Communities 

Over the past decades, wildfires with the most extreme intensity and spread have often happened in remote areas of Canada. As a result, smaller towns and Indigenous communities have been disproportionately impacted by wildfires. Smaller towns and Indigenous communities have fewer resources and are less likely to have a developed community wildfire plan (Copes-Gerbitz et al., 2022). Even though Indigenous communities are actively concerned about wildfire risks to wildlife, water quality, and biodiversity, unequal access to fire prevention resources is a systemic barrier that must be overcome to reduce the impact of wildfire (Copes-Gerbitz et al., 2022). Compared to larger municipal and regional districts, Indigenous groups also have a more limited social capacity and have been historically excluded from the planning process; therefore, they often cannot take advantage of government-sponsored programs. Outreach and community-centered approaches should be considered in implementing wildfire prevention plans, and traditional knowledge from Indigenous communities should be included in the discussions (Government of British Columbia, 2022).

Prescribed Burns

Indigenous people have historically used fire to manage the land and sustain their culture, values, and practices, but modern fire suppression forest management techniques have often prevented these cultural prescribed burns in many areas of Canada (Lambert, 2021; FireSmart Canada, 2022; FireSmart Canada, 2024). This absence of fire on the landscape results in a loss of biodiversity – remnants of native prairie-savannah ecosystems found in Canadian cities (City of Toronto, 2002; District of Saanich, 2023) are testimony to this. Prairie-savannah ecosystems are one of Canada’s most threatened vegetation and habitat types due to land conversion and the absence of fire. Prescribed burns help to manage these ecosystems in cities and maintain their biodiversity. Controlled fires help remove dead vegetation, control invasive species, and recycle nutrients back into the soil to prompt the growth of native grasses and wildflowers. For example, with a better understanding of fire ecology, the City of Toronto introduced annual prescribed burns to maintain the native black oak savannah in one of the most iconic city parks: High Park. The practice started in 2000 and has continued every year since. The annual prescribed burn resulted in many positive ecological and social benefits, which include public education and the incorporation of traditional knowledge and practice into managing vegetation in urban areas (Martin, 2024; Prescribed Fire, n.d.).